She laughed. “Please. John Elway. Kids are so naïve.”
The laugh burst out of my mouth along with a smattering of cookie crumbs. “God, sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Leaning forward I brushed clean the pile of papers on her desk.
“It’s fine. Okay,” she said, serious again. “Let’s call Mrs. Keller in for a formal meeting. See if there’s something going on. If we’re still concerned afterward, we’ll escalate to CPS.”
“Agreed,” I said.
I stood to leave, but she stopped me.
“Cassidy, you fostered kids, right?”
My chest tightened. “My mom was,” I said carefully. “After she passed, I kept the certification active for a while...helped transition some of the kids we were fostering. But I haven’t taken a placement ever.”
“If it came to it,” Mrs. Wright said, “would you consider fostering again? There’s a shortage here. If Lucas had to go into care, he’d be sent out of town and then move school.”
I swallowed the lump rising in my throat.
“I don’t think it’ll come to that,” I said quickly. “And I’m not sure I could...”
“Just think about it,” she said gently.
I nodded, fleeing the office before the pressure building inside me could explode. Before I agreed to something I wasn’t sure I wanted.
Outside, the late afternoon air was cool and heavy with the scent of spring rain, and my skin still buzzed from the accidental brush of Gunner’s hand when he passed me the cookies. It was nothing. It was barely a second. So why did it feel like he’d let something loose in me?
Trying to ignore the thought, I dug out my phone and called Lily as I walked toward my car.
“Hey, did you get your cookies this morning?” she asked, laughter in her voice.
“Mmm, yeah,” I muttered. “Delivered by the spawn of Satan.”
She laughed louder. “You two really need to get over yourselves.”
“Unlikely.” I blew out a long breath. “Can you meet me at Downtown tonight?”
“Tonight? I promised Bertie we’d watchSinging in the Rain.”
“She’s finally moved on fromSeven Brides?”
“We’re expanding her horizons,” Lily said. “Why don’t you come over instead? Bring wine. Stay over if you want.”
“Will he be there?” I asked, knowing the answer already.
“I’m not answering that,” she said. “Bring the wine. Wear pajamas. Prepare for Bertie commentary.”
She hung up before I could argue.
I smiled despite myself, the heaviness in my chest easing just a little.
Meddlesome woman.
Chapter 3
Look What You Made Me Do – Taylor Swift
Cassidy
“Dinner was great, baby.” Nash kissed the top of Lily’s head. “You and Cassidy go and have your girl’s chat before Singing in The Rain, and we’ll clear the dishes.”
